insecurities
by rocket-queen98
Summary: Set after 2x14—"Now, perhaps, a better man has entered Hope's life, and having seen that, you are shaken to your core."—Hope proves to Klaus that Elijah's words meant nothing.


****A/N ********This was written early in the morning. It was another idea I couldn't forget. Hope you like it.****

* * *

****Insecurities****

****.****

_"__**_You're acting out of fear, terrified that Jackson might be a better father to Hope. Niklaus, you yourself have mentioned that had you been raised by Ansel, you might have been a better man. Now, perhaps, a better man has entered Hope's life, and having seen that, you are shaken to your core."_**_

— ****Elijah Mikaelson to Klaus Mikaelson****

****.****

_**"**__**_**There you are, sweetheart. Do you have any clue how long i've been waiting for you to open your eyes?"**_**_

__A giggle echoed throughout the silent room, and blue eyes met his identical ones. Unable to help himself, Klaus let out a little chuckle, looking down at Hope who was clutching a teddy to her chest, squirming around in her crib. This was his favourite part of the day. Every morning he would sit by Hope's crib and wait for her to wake up. He enjoyed being the first thing she saw in the morning, and judging by her reaction, she didn't hate it. Klaus reached down, ticking her side, and was awarded another giggle from the child, and his smile only widened. Her small hand grasped his larger one and she brought it to her mouth, refusing to let go. Her feet kicked the air, eyes still staring into his, a small smirk on her face, one that mirrored his.__

_"___Demanding little thing...that you get from me, sweetheart."Klaus whispered, finger brushing Hope's cheek.__

__She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and that was saying something.__

__Klaus had been around the world more than once, met a lot of women that he had considered beautiful, even painted a few but none of them held a light to his little girl. He had called only a handful of them beautiful, but he never truly knew what the word meant until his eyes first caught sight of his daughter. He honestly couldn't believe that half of her was him, he hadn't truly believed it until her eyes opened. Ocean blue, matching his own and he found himself speechless. Here was this innocent child, this delicate creature, and she was his. At times he got nervous at holding her, terrified that he would break her.__

__But his fears all settled when she smiled at him.__

__She was his.__

_"___Ah, good, she's awake. Hayley's been pacing back and forth all morning. She wants to take the troublemaker to the park today...the weather's been crap the past few weeks."__

__Klaus, startled, looked up as Jackson's voice entered the room. The werewolf offered him a polite smile standing by the doorframe, a wide grin on his face when his gaze landed on Hope in the crib. Suddenly, Hope let out a loud, agonizing scream. Klaus narrowed his eyes, wondering why his daughter, who had been more than content a minute before, was now looking like she didn't recognise him. She held her teddy closer to her chest, burying her face in the fur, her hand slipping from his own.__

_"___It's all right, love. Are you hungry?" Klaus soothed, picking Hope up from the crib.__

__Normally she would have calmed down at this, at being held by her father but instead, Hope just continued to scream. Crocodile tears ran down her soft cheeks, her blue eyes watering. She began to squirm in his arms, as if ___**_he _**___were the problem.__

_"___What's wrong with her?" He asked himself.__

_"___Here, let me try."__

__Jackson appeared by his side, holding out his hands. Klaus shook his head, suddenly possessive of his daughter, but she continued to move around in his arms. He frowned as her eyes filled with tears once more, looking at him as if he were a monster, and Klaus' heart sank. Her small arms reached out, towards Jackson, as if he were the safe haven, not her father. Jackson gestured for him to hand over the child and Klaus felt uneasy. But his daughter was still reaching out to the werewolf, her fingers wiggling, cries getting louder, and each time she screamed, Klaus felt ill. She was trying to get away from him, as if he were nothing but a stranger. Reluctantly, he handed her over to the werewolf, his throat tightening. The werewolf held her close, mumbling soft words to her in an attempt to comfort her.__

__Feeling out of place, his face lost colour as he witnessed Hope instantly calm down in Jackson's arms.__

_"___There we go. It's all right now, kiddo."__

__He watched in horror as his daughter's small arms locked around Jackson's neck, her head nuzzling into his shoulder, a small smile on her face. This was all wrong, he thought, Hope normally did the exact same thing in ___**_his _**___arms. Jackson rocked back and forth, hushing the child back into a stable state, wiping her tears away. His world crumbled around him as Hope giggled when the werewolf tickled her side, the adorable sound sounding foreign to Klaus now. His daughter snuggled into Jackson's embrace, her eyes shining as she gazed up at the werewolf, as if he were her entire world, the same thing she normally did to Klaus.__

_"___That's my girl. Wanna go see Momma?"__

__Hope's nose scrunched up cutely as Jackson kissed the top of her head. She tapped his cheek, and the next moment made Klaus feel as if a white oak stake had been plunged into his heart. She gazed up adoringly at Jackson before she said the word Klaus had yearned to hear but it was directed at the wrong man.__

_"__**_Daddy._**___"__

__A tear ran down his cheek as he watched Jackson walk away with his daughter, and he stepped forward, reaching out for the pair, but was met with blackness.__

* * *

**"******No! Don't take her!"****

Klaus let out a loud gasp, sitting up straight, eyes wide. He sucked in a deep breath, sheets pooling at his waist as his eyes looked around the room, his bedroom. Sweat coated his forehead, his hands were shaking, and for a moment, he didn't seem to remember where he was, as if he were still trapped in his dream. Finally processing where he was, he let out a sigh of relief when he realized that it had been nothing but a horrible dream. He let himself drop back onto the bed, running a hand over his face as he stared up at the ceiling. It had felt real, much worse than the dream he had with Mikael over a year before. Klaus swallowed thickly, trying to rid of the pain that was in his chest as he thought about the dream.

_She gazed up adoringly at Jackson before she said the word Klaus had yearned to hear but it was directed at the wrong man."**Daddy.**"_

He couldn't let the dream come true. He wouldn't.

But what if Hope looked at Jackson the way Klaus looked at her?

What if, despite his best efforts, she grew up in fear of him like he did with Mikael?

Klaus' heart clenched as he imagined his daughter looking at him the way he looked at Mikael as a child.

What if—

Klaus' thoughts were cut short when he heard a cry coming from Hayley's bedroom.

It was Hope.

She wanted attention and, as always, he was more than happy to give it to her. Klaus cherished each moment he had with his daughter, and although he wanted to have her with him at all times, he had learned that he had to share her. Besides, he needed to get rid of the nightmare he had just suffered and, despite a good spot of violence, his daughter was the only thing that could calm him. Klaus got out of his bed and made his way out of his room. He passed Jackson's bedroom, tempted to break down the door and rip him apart for being a possible threat. His wolf yearned to hear him scream, but his daughter, his main focus at all times, needed him, so the wolf silenced for a moment. He followed Hope's sobs to the bedroom, careful not to walk the other hybrid in the room connected to Hope's.

He instantly smiled as he entered the nursery, his wolf calming when it felt that the baby hybrid was near.

But his smile soon fell when his eyes landed on the empty crib. They trailed to the window, where Jackson was standing, holding Hope.

Holding _his _daughter, who was still crying. Hope's usually smiling face was scrunched up, crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks, reminding him of the dream. The only difference was that Jackson wasn't able to calm her, instead, it looked like he was making he situation worse.

"Come on, kiddo, what's wrong? Hmm?"

He was rocking the child back and forth, looking out the window, hoping that she would calm if she saw the lights but it did no good. Hope screeched, tears running down her soft cheeks, clearly not enjoying the lights at all.

"You're doing it wrong."Klaus said as calmly as he could, catching Jackson's attention.

"What? She's a baby Klaus, she just needed to be picked up. I've been around a lot of kids."

"You forget that I had _three_ younger siblings, mate."He chuckled but his voice held an edge when he added."Hand my daughter over._**Now**_."

Jackson sighed but obeyed, not wanting to upset Hope more. He handed the squirming child over to her father and swallowed thickly when, as soon as she was in Klaus' arms, Hope stopped moving around. She looked up at her father and, content, she relaxed.

Klaus smiled lovingly down at his daughter as he held her close, his anger instantly faltering when she was in his arms."She likes to _look_ at the person who is holding her, otherwise it upsets her more because she feels threatened and confused. The __wolf__ feels threatened. But it does help if a __stranger__ isn't holding her. Rebekah was the same, poor thing, so it looks like she did inherit something from her aunt, after all. My sister would cry for hours on end, and only I knew how to calm her down."

"How did you know all that?" Jackson asked, eyeing Hope as her sobs began to silence slowly.

"She's my _daughter_. I know everything about her. What toy she prefer to sleep with, that she can only fall asleep by sucking on her bottom lip because it soothes her, that she recognises it's Elijah holding her because she tugs on his tie, and Rebekah because she recognises her blonde hair. The wolf recognises Hayley and I. She's very _advanced_ for her age, it's the wolf."Klaus smiled proudly down at his daughter, but his eyes had a glint of sadness when he spoke once more.

"If only Kol got to meet her."His voice was full of promise as he whispered to Hope."He will one day. He'll return, sweetheart. I'll make sure of it. He'll adore you."

Missing Jackson's shocked look, Klaus brushed his lips across Hope's forehead, hushing her as she slowly calmed down. Her watery eyes gazed up at her father, as if she knew who was holding her, that nobody could harm her in his arms. The wolf inside her recognised him, recognised it's own blood, he knew that. He held her possessively, savouring the moment, hoping that Elijah's words and his nightmare wasn't going to be true. He was already threatened by his brother, and it didn't help that Jackson was near, despite it being useful for his daughter. But all those thoughts flew from his mind as Hope tugged in his necklace, demanding his attention once again. He eagerly handed it to her, and when she saw him look at her, each gave one another a matching grin.

When Klaus saw this, saw how much his daughter adored him just as much as he loved her, he felt the negative thoughts, the paranoid ones disappearing.

"Hey, there, love. Quite the troublemaker, aren't you?"

His response was a squeal from Hope as she enjoyed her father's attention. Jackson watched as Hope's tears disappeared as she snuggled into her father's embrace, small fingers tapping his cheek adorably, making him chuckle. It was as if he wasn't in the room any longer, as if they were in their own world. Hope stared up at her father, her own smirk on her face. The love the small child held for him was clear, and it was undeniable how much that love was returned. Klaus Mikaelson, the most feared of them all, the most _hated_, was Hope's entire world and Jackson knew that no matter what he did, it would be impossible to compete with that.

Hope yawned, eyes beginning to drop as she cuddled into her father's chest. Klaus saw this and instantly snapped into action.

Lowering his voice even more, he whispered to Jackson."I'll take her tonight. Hayley needs her sleep and you have to be up early tomorrow for the werewolves. My daughter will no longer be hidden. Not in her own home."

His eyes landed on Hope once more, reaching in her crib for her teddy and blanket before he turned towards the door.

"Come, sweetheart, princesses need sleep. You've got a city to explore in the morning."

Jackson watched as Klaus led his daughter out of her room, not once looking back.

* * *

****Anyway, I hope you enjoyed some of it and if you did, please leave a review. It'll make my day. ****

****Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.****


End file.
